Here's my little guy making his usual mess during arts and crafts time in play class. We both typically go home covered in paint but he has so much fun that it's totally worth it.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Elmo
Ben got an early birthday gift yesterday from one of his friends and he is so in love with it! He carried Elmo around all morning and even tried to feed him some breakfast.
Here's my little guy making his usual mess during arts and crafts time in play class. We both typically go home covered in paint but he has so much fun that it's totally worth it.
Here's my little guy making his usual mess during arts and crafts time in play class. We both typically go home covered in paint but he has so much fun that it's totally worth it.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Fun at the Table (and more dancing!)
It was our turn to host the American Women's playgroup this week so I decided to do a mini birthday celebration for Ben since we're not having an official party. All he really wants is presents and cake anyway! I forgot to practice having him blow out the candles beforehand so Ben had no idea what to do when I gave him his cupcake.
It took a little teamwork but we managed to get the candles out!
It was a pretty chaotic feeding so much sugar to 9 little kids...it definitely got a lot louder and crankier afterward.
Ben was happy just to play with his cupcake and lick off the icing. I think he was upset that his hands got sticky and he just abandoned the cake itself. He's been very particular lately about keeping his hands clean, which is a big problem when he wants to eat rice because he expects me to wipe his hand between each mouthful!
Today he had some ketchup for dipping his chicken nuggets and he had no issues with spreading it all over his face, hands, arms, legs, and who knows where else before I stopped him! The nice thing is that all I have to do is hand him a bar of soap and he'll do the same thing in the bathroom so at least he's learning to clean up his own mess as well.
Here's the latest dancing update...this week has been all about making laps around the living room in between dance sets. It's a longer video than usual but he had a lot of energy to showcase! I let him run it all out before bedtime...
And just to clarify...the doll on the floor is for educational purposes only! I'm trying to introduce Ben to the idea of having a baby in the house and how we treat it, although leaving it on the floor to get trampled is probably not the best lesson for Ben to learn.
We'll work on that.
It took a little teamwork but we managed to get the candles out!
It was a pretty chaotic feeding so much sugar to 9 little kids...it definitely got a lot louder and crankier afterward.
Ben was happy just to play with his cupcake and lick off the icing. I think he was upset that his hands got sticky and he just abandoned the cake itself. He's been very particular lately about keeping his hands clean, which is a big problem when he wants to eat rice because he expects me to wipe his hand between each mouthful!
Today he had some ketchup for dipping his chicken nuggets and he had no issues with spreading it all over his face, hands, arms, legs, and who knows where else before I stopped him! The nice thing is that all I have to do is hand him a bar of soap and he'll do the same thing in the bathroom so at least he's learning to clean up his own mess as well.
Here's the latest dancing update...this week has been all about making laps around the living room in between dance sets. It's a longer video than usual but he had a lot of energy to showcase! I let him run it all out before bedtime...
And just to clarify...the doll on the floor is for educational purposes only! I'm trying to introduce Ben to the idea of having a baby in the house and how we treat it, although leaving it on the floor to get trampled is probably not the best lesson for Ben to learn.
We'll work on that.
Monday, May 12, 2008
A New Look
It seems like time to get rid of the "baby" before Ben, especially since we'll have a new baby in the house this summer. I'm playing with a new layout to share the lives of both the boys so bear with me while I play with the format!
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day to all moms, young and old!
Ben got me a beautiful orchid and a card (with a little help from Daddy, I think)
He was very excited to give me the card as soon as I got out of the shower on Sunday morning. After church, he took me out to lunch and then let me enjoy a nice, long nap. What a great day!
Ben's favorite new game is "kiss the baby". Really cute at home...slightly embarrassing out in public when he's lifting my shirt!
After the kiss, the second half of the game is "walk on baby brother". I'm hoping that will change once the baby is born!
Another fun game is "steal Daddy's watch" because it usually ends with the watch (also Daddy's alarm) hidden somewhere so we have to hunt it down before bedtime.
Don't laugh at my artwork...apparently Ben is learning some things enough to identify even the worst likenesses!
Ben's biggest entertainment today was definitely sunglasses. He managed to locate both of his pairs at once so that we could each wear some...loads of fun!
Here's my great attempt at a self-video...
Ben got me a beautiful orchid and a card (with a little help from Daddy, I think)
He was very excited to give me the card as soon as I got out of the shower on Sunday morning. After church, he took me out to lunch and then let me enjoy a nice, long nap. What a great day!
Ben's favorite new game is "kiss the baby". Really cute at home...slightly embarrassing out in public when he's lifting my shirt!
After the kiss, the second half of the game is "walk on baby brother". I'm hoping that will change once the baby is born!
Another fun game is "steal Daddy's watch" because it usually ends with the watch (also Daddy's alarm) hidden somewhere so we have to hunt it down before bedtime.
Don't laugh at my artwork...apparently Ben is learning some things enough to identify even the worst likenesses!
Ben's biggest entertainment today was definitely sunglasses. He managed to locate both of his pairs at once so that we could each wear some...loads of fun!
Here's my great attempt at a self-video...
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The Artist
Not only do we get complimentary custom bathroom designs each day, we get to enjoy a running commentary from the artist himself! I think he's saying Ben ("Be") a lot because, hey, who doesn't like to hear his own name?
After leading me to believe for a long time that he was going to be a lefty, Ben is using his right hand much more these days. So who knows...
Silly guy kept begging to play with my watch today but I didn't want it to disappear along with all the other things he's hidden in this house, so I let Ben wear it instead. He was so excited that he walked around staring at it for half an hour.
Great news this week - we have made it to 28 weeks with this pregnancy!! (according to my doctor, not the ticker at the top of the page) This is my first foray into the third trimester so we're thrilled. There is an exponentially enormous difference between a 24-week preemie and a 28-week preemie because the rate of development is huge during this time. The survival odds jump from 50% to 90% and the possibility of needing full mechanical ventilation drops significantly because the lungs are much more mature. The baby would still face numerous complications if he was delivered today but with each passing day he's getting stronger and more prepared to face the outside world. We're just taking it one day at a time and considering each passing week a success! Please continue to pray that this little guy will get to spend as much time as possible in the comfort of the womb because while we're looking forward to meeting him, we don't want to be introduced face-to-face just yet!
On a random note, our TV choices here are somewhat limited compared to the US. We got most of the popular network shows but they're all about a year behind with one big exception - American Idol! They show it via satellite (time-delayed, so it's on Wednesday nights) and it's a huge hit over here. I haven't really watched it in years but now it's the only show I keep up with each week and we're totally hooked. Matt and I are especially excited to see that an Aggie made it into the top 4, even though we hate his dreadlocks. The really nice thing is that we don't have to wait through the entire results show to find out who got kicked off because we can look on the internet on Thursday mornings here (Wednesday night in the states) and check the results. It's nice to feel like we're part of something American and not completely behind on everything going on over there!
After leading me to believe for a long time that he was going to be a lefty, Ben is using his right hand much more these days. So who knows...
Silly guy kept begging to play with my watch today but I didn't want it to disappear along with all the other things he's hidden in this house, so I let Ben wear it instead. He was so excited that he walked around staring at it for half an hour.
Great news this week - we have made it to 28 weeks with this pregnancy!! (according to my doctor, not the ticker at the top of the page) This is my first foray into the third trimester so we're thrilled. There is an exponentially enormous difference between a 24-week preemie and a 28-week preemie because the rate of development is huge during this time. The survival odds jump from 50% to 90% and the possibility of needing full mechanical ventilation drops significantly because the lungs are much more mature. The baby would still face numerous complications if he was delivered today but with each passing day he's getting stronger and more prepared to face the outside world. We're just taking it one day at a time and considering each passing week a success! Please continue to pray that this little guy will get to spend as much time as possible in the comfort of the womb because while we're looking forward to meeting him, we don't want to be introduced face-to-face just yet!
On a random note, our TV choices here are somewhat limited compared to the US. We got most of the popular network shows but they're all about a year behind with one big exception - American Idol! They show it via satellite (time-delayed, so it's on Wednesday nights) and it's a huge hit over here. I haven't really watched it in years but now it's the only show I keep up with each week and we're totally hooked. Matt and I are especially excited to see that an Aggie made it into the top 4, even though we hate his dreadlocks. The really nice thing is that we don't have to wait through the entire results show to find out who got kicked off because we can look on the internet on Thursday mornings here (Wednesday night in the states) and check the results. It's nice to feel like we're part of something American and not completely behind on everything going on over there!
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Daddy's little shadow
Ben wanted to do everything that Daddy was doing today!
He had to make sure he looked his best for church with a clean shave...
...put on some shoes and socks....
...and play in the pool!
Today's church service was a special choir program, so we brought Ben out of the nursery towards the end to let him enjoy some of the music. He danced a little and clapped along, but then he started talking a lot and at his usual volume (loud!) so we had to start saying "shhhhh". So then whenever Ben said anything, afterward he'd look at me and say "shhhh". It was hilarious.
This afternoon we all enjoyed the pool and Ben jumped in over and over. He refuses to wear any sort of floats but has no fear of the water, so we've had a few dunking and sputtering incidents but I think they have made him much more aware of holding his breath. Now when he goes under water by choice or unexpectedly, he's either holding his breath or blowing bubbles so we're making great progress towards having a little swimmer. Here's one of the hundred times he jumped in:
Later he was even daring enough to let Matt throw him up and then catch him under the water, and Ben would come up every time with his hands signing "more" as fast as he could! I realized today that Ben has quit using signs for everything else but still hasn't ever verbally said "more", so it's still a hand signal. Sometimes he'll physically grab me to make sure I see him doing the sign so I'm not sure why he hasn't just said the word but I guess it will come in time.
Someone asked me what sort of games they could possibly have for kids Ben's age and here is his favorite. All he has to do is hit any key on the keyboard and then he gets to watch Elmo do something. It's really cute, but I didn't think I'd have to share my computer already!
He had to make sure he looked his best for church with a clean shave...
...put on some shoes and socks....
...and play in the pool!
Today's church service was a special choir program, so we brought Ben out of the nursery towards the end to let him enjoy some of the music. He danced a little and clapped along, but then he started talking a lot and at his usual volume (loud!) so we had to start saying "shhhhh". So then whenever Ben said anything, afterward he'd look at me and say "shhhh". It was hilarious.
This afternoon we all enjoyed the pool and Ben jumped in over and over. He refuses to wear any sort of floats but has no fear of the water, so we've had a few dunking and sputtering incidents but I think they have made him much more aware of holding his breath. Now when he goes under water by choice or unexpectedly, he's either holding his breath or blowing bubbles so we're making great progress towards having a little swimmer. Here's one of the hundred times he jumped in:
Later he was even daring enough to let Matt throw him up and then catch him under the water, and Ben would come up every time with his hands signing "more" as fast as he could! I realized today that Ben has quit using signs for everything else but still hasn't ever verbally said "more", so it's still a hand signal. Sometimes he'll physically grab me to make sure I see him doing the sign so I'm not sure why he hasn't just said the word but I guess it will come in time.
Someone asked me what sort of games they could possibly have for kids Ben's age and here is his favorite. All he has to do is hit any key on the keyboard and then he gets to watch Elmo do something. It's really cute, but I didn't think I'd have to share my computer already!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Pictures
Random pictures from the week...
Ben reluctantly wore the rabbit ears he made in class. As much as he's enjoying wearing everything these days I thought he'd be more excited.
He is excited about doing anything I can do, like sitting in my chair and playing on the computer. Who knew a toddler could find fun Elmo games online?
By far his favorite computer activity is talking to his grandparents in Texas. Webcams are the best invention ever, as far as I'm concerned, because Ben gets to see and talk to all of his grandparents every week and they can see all of his new antics.
Ben is in love with his new keyboard and microphone. Probably not the best choice from a parents' standpoint, as he's already figured out the volume control, but plenty of fun for him.
Another great source of fun: bathroom crayons! It's a lot of fun to unleash him on all the bathroom surfaces because he really can't ruin anything in there.
Ben reluctantly wore the rabbit ears he made in class. As much as he's enjoying wearing everything these days I thought he'd be more excited.
He is excited about doing anything I can do, like sitting in my chair and playing on the computer. Who knew a toddler could find fun Elmo games online?
By far his favorite computer activity is talking to his grandparents in Texas. Webcams are the best invention ever, as far as I'm concerned, because Ben gets to see and talk to all of his grandparents every week and they can see all of his new antics.
Ben is in love with his new keyboard and microphone. Probably not the best choice from a parents' standpoint, as he's already figured out the volume control, but plenty of fun for him.
Another great source of fun: bathroom crayons! It's a lot of fun to unleash him on all the bathroom surfaces because he really can't ruin anything in there.
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